Jerusalem is slowly dying. It's run down. It's dirty. Its buildings are crumbling

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Number of messages in the thread: 2

1. Date: 2008-11-23 01:01:18
Subject: Jerusalem is slowly dying. It's run down. It's dirty. Its buildings are crumbling
From: kangarooistan1 <b...@g...com> Search message by this author

.
Jerusalem is slowly dying. It's run down. It's dirty. Its buildings
are crumbling - and not just the old ones.
.
thousands of young Jews are choosing to leave every year.
.
they can no longer afford, or tolerate, life in the city any longer.
.
Jerusalem is now the second poorest city in Israel; and it looks it.
.
the secular and modern religious Jews leave. The only other
community growing as fast as the Haredi is the city's Arab
population.

Jerusalem's population could be 50 per cent Palestinian within two
decades.

Correspondents Report - Saturday, 22 November , 2008
http://www.abc.net.au/correspondents/content/2008/s2
426994.htm
Reporter: Ben Knight
.
ELIZABETH JACKSON: The historic city of Jerusalem is facing
difficult future; a combination of high house prices and few
employment prospects means that thousands of young Jews are choosing
to leave every year.

But the Mayor of Jerusalem is hoping to modernise the city which is
currently amongst Israel's poorest; by breaking away from the orthodox
Jewish traditions of the past.

Our Middle East correspondent, Ben Knight reports.

BEN KNIGHT: Jerusalem is slowly dying. It's run down. It's dirty. Its
buildings are crumbling - and not just the old ones.

And not just in the chronically neglected Arab neighbourhoods of
East Jerusalem either. Jerusalem is now the second poorest city in
Israel; and it looks it.

For hours each day the city's narrow roads are choked with traffic.
The city's only cheap public transport is the buses, which also get
stuck in the gridlock - and most of them look like they're about to
gasp their last black puff of diesel smoke, any minute.

Shops and stores look old and tired; and so do the people behind the
counters. Property prices in the city are exorbitant, yet jobs are
hard to find.

The desperately needed light rail system is behind schedule, and over
budget.

If it wasn't Jerusalem, why would you stay? Well in fact, a lot of
people are deciding that - Jerusalem or not - they can no longer
afford, or tolerate, life in the city any longer.

Thousands of young Jews are leaving every year - and it's been that
way for a decade and a half years.

Unfortunately for Jerusalem's city council, the ones who leave tend
to be the ones who paid their city taxes.

This is the challenge facing Nir Barkat, Jerusalem's new mayor. He
blames the previous mayor for the city's deterioration - as a new
mayor might. But this is about more than just a difference of policy
or style.

Nir Barkat is a secular Jew; he represents a community anxious the
city is sliding into a sort of fundamentalist 'dark age'. The
previous mayor Uri Lupolianski is an ultra-orthodox, or 'Haredi'
Jew, and because this is Jerusalem, that became the key
difference between the main candidates in this election.

The antagonism between secular or moderate religious Israel and
ultra- orthodox Israel is not new. secular and modern religious Jews
do their compulsory army service, but by and large, the Haredi do
not.

Nor, in many cases, do the ultra-orthodox work and pay tax - instead
they study Torah full time in religious schools. Haredi women do
work, but with an average birth rate of almost eight per woman,
careers are difficult to manage.

To a large degree, the ultra-orthodox reject modernity. It's they
that are the fastest growing group in Jerusalem's population.

So as the Haredi population of Jerusalem grows, the secular and
modern religious Jews leave. The only other community growing as
fast as the Haredi is the city's Arab population.

According to some predictions, Jerusalem's population could be 50
per cent Palestinian within two decades.

In Israel land and politics are inseparable. So for Jews who call
Jerusalem their eternal, undivided capital, those figures are very
serious indeed.

Nir Barkat pitched this election as a choice between a city that
would become more open or more orthodox.

His main opponent was the Haredi Rabbi Meir Porush, who promised he'd
be a Mayor for all the city's residents, but his campaign hit a major
snag when he was recorded saying that in 15 years, there would be no
secular mayors in Israel.

Now, Nir Barkat has five years to fix Jerusalem's deep and complex
problems. He'll have to do it from a standing start and with a city
budget already under serious pressure.

Jerusalem is still one of the world's most remarkable cities. It will
always be here, and it will always be that special place to people
around the world, but they don't have to live here.

This is Ben Knight in Jerusalem for Correspondents Report.
http://www.abc.net.au/correspondents/content/2008/s2
426994.htm

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2. Date: 2008-11-23 11:37:02
Subject: Re: Jerusalem is slowly dying. It's run down. It's dirty. Its buildings are crumbling
From: s...@n...fr Search message by this author

On Nov 23, 2:01 am, kangarooistan1 <b...@g...com> wrote:
> .
> Jerusalem is slowly dying. It's run down. It's dirty. Its buildings
> are crumbling - and not just the old ones.
> .
> thousands of young Jews are choosing to leave every year.
> .
> they can no longer afford, or tolerate, life in the city any longer.
> .
> Jerusalem is now the second poorest city in Israel; and it looks it.
> .
> the secular and modern religious Jews leave. The only other
> community growing as fast as the Haredi is the city's Arab
> population.
>
> Jerusalem's population could be 50 per cent Palestinian within two
> decades.
>
> Correspondents Report - Saturday, 22 November ,
2008http://www.abc.net.au/correspondents/content/200
8/s2426994.htm
> Reporter: Ben Knight
> .
> ELIZABETH JACKSON: The historic city of Jerusalem is facing
> difficult future; a combination of high house prices and few
> employment prospects means that thousands of young Jews are choosing
> to leave every year.
>
> But the Mayor of Jerusalem is hoping to modernise the city which is
> currently amongst Israel's poorest; by breaking away from the orthodox
> Jewish traditions of the past.
>
> Our Middle East correspondent, Ben Knight reports.
>
> BEN KNIGHT: Jerusalem is slowly dying. It's run down. It's dirty. Its
> buildings are crumbling - and not just the old ones.
>
> And not just in the chronically neglected Arab neighbourhoods of
> East Jerusalem either. Jerusalem is now the second poorest city in
> Israel; and it looks it.
>
> For hours each day the city's narrow roads are choked with traffic.
> The city's only cheap public transport is the buses, which also get
> stuck in the gridlock - and most of them look like they're about to
> gasp their last black puff of diesel smoke, any minute.
>
> Shops and stores look old and tired; and so do the people behind the
> counters. Property prices in the city are exorbitant, yet jobs are
> hard to find.
>
> The desperately needed light rail system is behind schedule, and over
> budget.
>
> If it wasn't Jerusalem, why would you stay? Well in fact, a lot of
> people are deciding that - Jerusalem or not - they can no longer
> afford, or tolerate, life in the city any longer.
>
> Thousands of young Jews are leaving every year - and it's been that
> way for a decade and a half years.
>
> Unfortunately for Jerusalem's city council, the ones who leave tend
> to be the ones who paid their city taxes.
>
> This is the challenge facing Nir Barkat, Jerusalem's new mayor. He
> blames the previous mayor for the city's deterioration - as a new
> mayor might. But this is about more than just a difference of policy
> or style.
>
> Nir Barkat is a secular Jew; he represents a community anxious the
> city is sliding into a sort of fundamentalist 'dark age'. The
> previous mayor Uri Lupolianski is an ultra-orthodox, or 'Haredi'
> Jew, and because this is Jerusalem, that became the key
> difference between the main candidates in this election.
>
> The antagonism between secular or moderate religious Israel and
> ultra- orthodox Israel is not new. secular and modern religious Jews
> do their compulsory army service, but by and large, the Haredi do
> not.
>
> Nor, in many cases, do the ultra-orthodox work and pay tax - instead
> they study Torah full time in religious schools. Haredi women do
> work, but with an average birth rate of almost eight per woman,
> careers are difficult to manage.
>
> To a large degree, the ultra-orthodox reject modernity. It's they
> that are the fastest growing group in Jerusalem's population.
>
> So as the Haredi population of Jerusalem grows, the secular and
> modern religious Jews leave. The only other community growing as
> fast as the Haredi is the city's Arab population.
>
> According to some predictions, Jerusalem's population could be 50
> per cent Palestinian within two decades.
>
> In Israel land and politics are inseparable. So for Jews who call
> Jerusalem their eternal, undivided capital, those figures are very
> serious indeed.
>
> Nir Barkat pitched this election as a choice between a city that
> would become more open or more orthodox.
>
> His main opponent was the Haredi Rabbi Meir Porush, who promised he'd
> be a Mayor for all the city's residents, but his campaign hit a major
> snag when he was recorded saying that in 15 years, there would be no
> secular mayors in Israel.
>
> Now, Nir Barkat has five years to fix Jerusalem's deep and complex
> problems. He'll have to do it from a standing start and with a city
> budget already under serious pressure.
>
> Jerusalem is still one of the world's most remarkable cities. It will
> always be here, and it will always be that special place to people
> around the world, but they don't have to live here.
>
> This is Ben Knight in Jerusalem for Correspondents
Report.http://www.abc.net.au/correspondents/content/
2008/s2426994.htm

Thank you Mr Kanga, you are always very well informed !